Mapping the Way Forward in Comparative Management: An Interview with Dr. Gordon Redding

In conversation with DeGroote professor of HR Management, Dr. Vishwanath Baba

In Dr. Gordon Redding’s seminal paper published in Organization Studies in 1994, he wondered whether comparative management theory was a jungle, zoo, or fossil bed, and offered a new, more sophisticated theoretical approach to comparison. With over 40 years’ worth of experience in research and writing in comparative systems of capitalism, Dr. Redding is a pre-eminent scholar in the field.

As part of a new initiative for the International Journal of Comparative Management, which is currently hosted at the DeGroote School of Business, Dr. Vishwanath Baba sat down with Dr. Gordon Redding to share his thoughts on the progress that has been made, more than 25 years after the publication of his original work.

Redding also reflects on his departure from Hofstede’s theories on cross-cultural organizations. He discusses the importance of comparative investigation and delves into the concepts of societal processes, which feature prominently in his latest work. Dr. Redding’s current research focus is on the comparison of different systems of capitalism and on the role of education and societal progress.

Dr. Redding has elaborated on the transcription of the interview, and the resulting paper will be published in the next issue of IJCM.

IJCM aims to publish mainly comparative studies in all fields of management including accounting, corporate strategy, finance, information systems, international business, human resources, marketing and organisational behaviour. The journal is a focal venue for research grounded in comparative perspectives such as context, ownership, strategy, communication, performance and methods. IJCM invites all forms of comparative investigations leveraging theoretical or empirical observations using qualitative or quantitative methods based on survey, interview or archival data.

To learn more about the journal, visit www.inderscience.com/ijcm . For inquiries about the journal, please e-mail ijcm@mcmaster.ca

CLICK HERE to view the suggested reading list.

Dr. Gordon Redding

Professor, Academic, Author, Editor, Consultant

Dr. Redding is a British professor, academic, author, editor, and consultant. He has 40 years experience in research and writing in comparative systems of capitalism, with an Asian focus, especially China and its evolving forms. He also works on the comparison of different systems of capitalism, and on the role of education in societal development. He has published 15 books and over 100 articles related to these subjects. He retains a number of professorships, and is currently working as a senior advisor to the Human Capital and Education for Asian Development Foundation, based in Singapore.

He was Director of the Euro-Asia Centre of INSEAD in France, for seven years. He still retains an adjunct professorship there in the field of Asian Business and Comparative Management. He has also sat on the editorial boards of ten research journals.

Dr. Vishwanath Baba

Professor, Human Resources and Management; Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Comparative Management; President of the International Network of Business and Management Journal Editors

Dr. Vishwanath Baba is a professor and former Dean of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Comparative and the President of the International Network of Business and Management Journal Editors.  He was formerly the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences (CJAS). He has published extensively in major journals in the field of management. Prior to coming to McMaster, Dr. Baba was the Chairman of the Management Department and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. He is currently on the editorial boards of a number of management journals including the Journal of Organizational Behavior. Dr. Baba has taught various aspects of management in France, China, Vietnam, and Trinidad. He has also done management training in the Caribbean, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, and Vietnam. Dr. Baba is currently teaching management theory and management development at the graduate level.